Jonathan Merritt writes books and articles that change people. He’s a senior writer for the Religion News Service and just last week, he won the 2014 Religion Commentary of the Year from the Religion Newswriters Association.
I had the pleasure of asking Merritt a few questions about books that have influenced him.
Juan Cole tells the backstory of the revolutions in North Africa, exploring events in the context of their cultural setting. His conclusions are optimistic yet grounded in realism.
Many current meanings of spirituality have nothing to do with the spiritual or the spirit, but Lucy Bregman doesn't write them off. Instead, she wants to find out what "makes spirituality so appealing."